Introduction

The Boyevaya Mashina Desanta or Airborne Combat Vehicle came out of a need that was raised during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the ability to transport lighter vehicles. The BMD-2 entered service in 1985 and was an upgrade to the BMD-1 with a new turret and changes to the hull. The new BMD-2 mounted the B-30 turret sporting a 30mm multi-purpose auto cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. The vehicle also mounted an anti-tank guided missile system.

The BMD-2 did see service in the later part of the War in Afghanistan and was also deployed in Serbia as part of SFOR. In more recent conflicts, both side of the war in Ukraine are using the BMD-2.

After the initial release of the BMD-1 by Panda, they have now released the upgraded BMD-2.

Contents

Inside the box you will find:
Plastic upper and lower hulls
9 Sprues of plastic
1 Fret of photo-etched
1 Sheet of Decal
1 Instruction booklet
1 Sheet of Painting and Markings

Review

Opening the box, the first thing that struck me is the dark green plastic used in the molding of the kit. Beyond the dark color the moldings look for be very well done, I found little flash and did not find any sink marks. As for ejector marks there are many present on the interior of the vehicle and a few other parts, but it does look like none will show after the build.

Not having seen the BMD-1 release from Panda, I did have a look at the previous review on Armorama by C Johnson here.

A quick review of the offerings from the previous kit shows that this new BMD-2 kit from Panda reuses the same sprues for the hull construction. Three new sprue have been added to this release that includes the new turret, ATGM, and new road wheels. These new parts are very well molded, to match the rest of the kit.

The Panda kit does look to be well molded, with some nice surface details and some fine parts. There is a small fret of photo-etched parts included for some finer details. The kit does not include any interior detail, and this includes the lack of interior details on the hatches, so unless you scratch build, it will have to be built buttoned-up. The molding does look like slide molding is used, as the ends of the plastic barrels are hollow.

As mentioned in the previous review, the individual tracks are fine, and will require a lot of work. The guide horn is a very small separate parts and will need to be glued onto each and every track link. The tracks are not workable, and will need to be glue together at about 88 links per side. I would recommend that you look for an aftermarket source for track.

The instructions look rather well laid out, with 9 steps over 8 pages. Now I must say that the last page makes it look like the instruction are not complete, as one of the diagrams is cut off on the edge of the page, but it does look like every step for the build is covered.

The markings and paint schemes are on a separate sheet, with four separate marking schemes, one camouflaged, and the other three green. Unfortunately they don’t list the markings units or usage. The decals do look to be printed well, and within register with good colors. But I did notice, as I have with previous releases from Panda, that the carrier film looks and feels a little thick.

Conclusion

Overall this looks to be a great kit from Panda Hobby, it has some good looking moldings and offers a great subject. The kit would be perfect for those wanting to build a representation of the Russian BMD-2 or to be the center of a diorama of the modern conflict in Ukraine. The kit does have a few downfalls, mainly the individual track links and the work required to build them up, also there is no unit or usage information listed in the paint scheme. It should also be noted there are a few construction issues noted in the previous build review, but nothing serious that a seasoned modeler could not overcome. I will recommend this kit, as it does look like a fun kit to build, and should build into a nice looking BMD-2.